Steam-engine governor



-6N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' H. H. LANE.

, STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR. No. 553,918. C Patented Feb. 4, 1896.-

' ZIVZTNESSES: [NI/E N 703.

MM g w m (No'Mod eL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

4 H. H. LANE.

v STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR.

Patented Feb. 4, 1896.

x IIIIIIIIIIIIIII! Illllll INVENTOR.

A T T ORA/IE VS.

ANDREW EGRRNAM, PHOTDAUTNQWASHINGTONDVC.

H. H. LANE. STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Patented Feb. 4, 1 896 (No Model.)

. JNVENTOR, I flaraaeflL alw, BY

A TTORNEYS NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' HORACE H. LANE, on HUNTINGDON, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-ENGINE GOVERNOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,918, dated February4, 1896.

Application filed February 9, 1895. fierial No. 537,826. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known thatI, HORACE H. LANE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Huntingdon, in the county of I-Iuntingdon and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Steam-Engine Governor, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of steamengine governors in whichthe slide-valve is actuated to admit more or less steam into thecylinder, accordingly as the speed is retarded from or acceleratedbeyond a standard rate; and its object is to construct and arrange thevalve-reciprocating eccentric and its accessories upon the fly-wheel ofthe engine, so

. that the throw of the eccentric shall be automatically increased anddiminished proportionately to the valve movement required.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts forming a steam-engine governor hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a fly-wheel for an engine with a governor attachedthereto according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a view looking down upon asection of the same at the line 00 w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the same parts shown in Fig. 1, with this difference: inFig. 1 the parts are represented in their initial position, as when thewheel is at rest, while in Fig. 3 the parts are represented extended, aswhen the wheel is in rapid motion. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional viewlooking to the right of Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, 7 8, 9, and 10 are views ofparts in detail.

11 represents the fiy-wheel of an engine, rigidly mounted on a shaft 12to revolve therewith.

13 is the valve-shifting eccentric, around and upon which any usual formof yoke may be mounted to connectit with the valve-shifting rod. Thiseccentric is provided with an arm 14, extending to one side of its mainplane and pivoted at 15 to the wheel 11, and provided with an aperture16 to admit the shaft 12. This aperture is elongated in the direction ofthe arc of a circle around the pivot 15, permitting the eccentric tovibrate upon the pivot to vary the amount of eccentricity relative tothe shaft 12, with which the eccentric revolves when the engine is inoperation.

17 is a disk provided with a hub 18, extending to one side and fitted torevolve upon the shaft 12. 1

19 is a crank-pin projecting laterally from the disk 17, at the samesidethereof as the hub 18 and parallel with the hub. The eccentric 13 isrecessed in one side to receive the hub 18,-which plays freely therein,and it is radially slotted at 20 to admit a box 21, which is bored toserve as a bearing fort-he crank-pin 19.

22 represents the governor balls or weights provided with arms 23,pivoted to the wheel at 24 to swing in the plane of the wheel whenactuated by centrifugal or centripetal force.

On each of the arms 23 is mounted abinding-block 25, serving as anattaching-point for a rod 26, which connects each arm 23 with the disk17. The blocks 25 also serve as attaching-points for rods 27, whichconnect the arms 23 with springs 28, that are hinged at their outer endsto the rim of the wheel 11 by means of screw-rods 29 engaginginternallythreaded nuts 30, which pass through the rim of the wheel,each nut having a flanged head 31 to engage a counterbored shoulder inthe wheel-rim.

, 32 is a dash-pot mounted on the inner side of the wheel-rim by meansof aspring or flexible bracket 33, and it is connected with one of thearms 23 bya piston-rod 34.

The operation is as follows When the wheel is at rest, the springs 28draw the arms 23 to their normal position of rest, as near as possibleto the shaft 12, and the eccentric 13 is at its extreme limit away fromthe center of revolution, whereby the slide-valves will be given theirfull stroke, opening their ports for a full inlet of steam on the start.Now, as the speed increases, the weights 22 will be attended bycentrifugal force, rotating the disk by means of the rods 26. The crank19 on the disk swings the eccentric 13 gradually toward the center,shortening the stroke of the eccentric and valve until the springs 28counterbalance the centrifugal force acting through the weights. Thenthe standard speed is reached for which the springs are set. If a suddenload be thrown upon the engine, the slackening of the fly-wheel therebywill in a single turn permit the springs 28 to retract the weights, thusextending the movement of the eccentric and valve and admitting moresteam proportionate to the work, or, if a portion of the load bewithdrawn from the engine, the increase of speed will quickly extend theweights and shorten the stroke of the eccentric and valve, and therebylessen the amount of steam admitted until the standard speed is againreached. This governor is so sensitive that it will maintain aregularity of speed whose greatest variations are hardly perceptibleunder varying loads.

The dash-pot 32 is a mere cylinder in which a piston on the rod 34: isfitted to slide to prevent sudden action of the weight 22 by theresistance of air or any other fluid against the piston. This is notnew; but there is an advantage in mountingthe dash-pot on a brackethaving a fiat face of sufficient stability to maintain the dash-pot inthe plane of the wheel, while the bracket yields sufficiently to permitthe piston-rod to vibrate a little to accommodate the arc of motion ofthe bindingblock 25. The hub 18, projecting from the disk 17 at the sameside as the crank 19, serves as a bearing on the shaft 12, whereby thecrank is supported directly in its plane of service, thus securingaccuracy of movement and avoiding both wear and friction, which wouldresult from the use of a crank not thus directly supported, as the diskwould be tipped out of plane thereby. It will be seen that the hub 18 iscutaway at the opposite side from the crank, where no bearing isrequired. tric the greatest possible throw attainable with this size ofeccentric and shaft.

It is evident that this governor is applicable to fly-wheels of anyform, either made as a solid disk or with arms, or put together insections. The nut-heads 31 being slotted for a screwdriver, or made manysided for a socket-wrench, enable the operator to adjust the tension ofthe springs from the outside of the flywheel, and these nuts beinginternally threaded enable them to engage common screw-eyes 29, whichwill connect with common merchantable springs 28 without especialadaptation.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, I claim- 1. In an engine-governor,the combination of a fly-wheel, a disk loosely mounted upon the sameshaft with the fly-wheel and having a hub and a crank projectinglaterally from the same side thereof, a valve-shifting eccentric mountedupon the said hub and having an arm attached by a stationary pivot tothe fly-wheel, the hub-receiving aperture being elongated in thedirection of the arc of a circle around the said pivot, said eccentrichaving a radial slot, a box fitted in the said radial slot and having abore in which is inserted the said crank, and the usual mechanismbetween the fiy-wheel and the said disk for controlling the movements ofthe latter That is done to permit the eccenby centrifugal andcentripetal forces, substantially as specified.

:2. In an engine-governor, the combination of a fly-wheel, a diskloosely mounted upon the same shaft with the fly-wheel and having a huband a crank projecting laterally from the same side thereof, avalve-shifting eccentric mounted upon the said hub and having an armattached by a stationary pivot to the fly-wheel, and having an aperturefor the passage of the said shaft, said aperture being elongated in thedirection of the are of a circle around the said pivot, and the saideccentric having a radial slot to receive the afore said crank, and theordinary mechanism between the fly-wheel and the aforementioned disk forcontrolling the movements of thelatter by centrifugal and centripetalforces, substantially as set forth.

In an engine-governor, the combination of a fiy-wheel, a disk looselymounted upon the same shaft with the fly-wheel and having a hub and acrank projecting laterally from the same side thereof, the hub being cutaway on the side remote from the crank, a valveshifting eccentricmounted upon the said hub and having an arm attached by a stationarypivot to the fly-wheel, said eccentric having a radial slot to receivethe aforesaid crank, and the usual provisions between the flywheel andthe said disk for controlling the movements of the latter by centrifugaland centripetal forces, substantially as specified.

l. The herein-specified steam-engine governor, comprising a fly-wheel, adisk loosely mounted upon the same shaft with the flywheel and having ahub and a crank projecting laterally from the same side thereof, the hubbeing cut away 011 the side remote from the crank, a valve-shiftingeccentric mounted upon the said hub and having an arm attached by astationary pivot to the fly-wheel, and having an aperture for thepassage of the said shaft and which is elongated in the direction of thearc of a circle around the said pivot, and which has a radial slot, abox located in the said radial slot and having a bore to receive theaforementioned cranlgweigh'ted arms having connection with the saiddisk, springs attached at their inner ends to the weighted arms,tensioning devices for connecting the outer ends of the springs with theouter portion of the fly-wheel, a dash-pot having pivotal connectionwith one of the weighted arms, and a spring-bracket firmly attached atone end to the fiy-wheel and having its opposite end rigidly connectedwith the dash-pot, substantially as an d for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HORACE II. LANE. Witnesses:

WM. P. ORBIsON, R. A. ORBisoN.

